Wedding Cupcakes!

This weekend, I made a bunch of wedding cupcakes for my Mom's Friend's wedding. My little sister's helped me decorate them. All in all, 144 cupcakes took about 8 hours to bake and decorate, but it was worth it. Here's some pics...

Mr. Sullivan Said It Best

Well, it was a great night for Barack Obama last night, as he clinched the Democratic Nomination for President. However, SOMEONE is a sore loser, and didn't concede last night. I really hope he isn't forced into having her for the Vice President spot. That would be a sad day. Here's a quote from The Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan today. It really sums up my feelings on the whole mess.


From - The Daily Dish:

The speech tonight was a remarkable one for a candidate who has lost the nomination, though not remarkable for a Clinton. It was an assertion that she had won the nomination and a refusal to concede anything to her opponent. Classless, graceless, shameless, relentless. Pure Clinton.

Her narcissism requires that she deprive her opponent of a night, or a second, of gratification or attention. And she has now won, in her Bush-like version of reality, 18 million votes. Her invitation for her supporters to email their suggestions to her website is pure theater, a way of keeping herself in the spotlight and maneuvering her delegates to demand a second spot on the ticket. The way she is now doing this - by an implicit threat, backed by McCain, to claim that Obama is an illegitimate nominee if she does not get her way - is designed to humiliate the nominee sufficiently to wound him enough to lose the election.

Either way, she is clearly intent on getting Obama defeated this fall if she is not offered the vice-presidency. And if she gets the veep nod, the way she has gotten it will allow her to argue that a November loss was not her loss. It was his. And she will run again in 2012.

She will not go away. The Clintons will never go away. And they will do all they can to cripple any Democrat who tries to replace them. In the tent or out of it, it is always about them. And they are no longer rivals to Obama; they are threats.

Verdict

Well, I saw Sex and the City on Friday night (ok, I went to see it twice on Friday) and loved it.

Although I will suggest to those of you who haven't seen it yet not to open Carrie's Macbook on the movie's website. The pictures and little chats completely give away all of the plot.

The trailer also gives away the entire plot and hints at the ending to some of the story lines. I found this suprising since they were so secretive about everything.

I Have Decided

That I'm going to stop trying random cupcakes in various places. They are usually lackluster. This weekend, I went to the Flying Monkey in Philadelphia. The cake was super dry and the icing was so, so, and was probably iced by a 3rd grader.

From now on, it's Magnolia or Sugar Sweet Sunshine, or cupcakes I bake myself.

That is all.

You Might Be a Redneck...

If you spent Memorial Day shooting at Water Balloons with a Red Ryder BB Gun.

New Joss Whedon!

About a year ago, my friend started sending me Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD. I quickly fell in love with the series. (I'm going to start watching Angel after the Memorial Day break).

Joss Whedon has a new show coming out in the fall called Dollhouse. It looks pretty awesome. Familiar faces include Faith from Buffy, and the teacher from Rushmore.

Watch a preview here.

Way to Go Orioles!

Last night, the Orioles scored a crap load of runs off Mike Mussina, which had him kicked out of the game in the first inning.

I haven't been this proud of my baseball team in a long time.

Fun Fact

I received an email the other day from a family friend about aluminum foil. It said that there are tabs on the sides of aluminum foil boxes that you can press inward to hold the roll in place.

I checked my boxes, and the tabs were there. Now my rolls stay in place!

I have been using aluminum foil for years and have never noticed this.

(Note: It's on plastic wrap boxes too!)

Sad

One of my favorite artists, Robert Rauschenberg died on Monday.

Rest in peace.

Cupcake Cars!

awesome.

Favorite Episodes

In anticipation of the release of the Sex and the City movie, I decided I needed a list of my favorite episodes from the series.

Season One -

"Sex and the City" - The pilot, in which we hear Big say for the first time "abso-fucking-lutely"

"Secret Sex" - I think the idea of this one is both mean and funny.

"The Baby Shower" - Pretty much typifies how I feel about going to baby showers.

Season Two -

"Four Women and a Funeral" - good stories in this one

"The Chicken Dance" - This is one of my favorites only because I think the dress Carrie wears to the wedding is awesome.

"La Douleur Exquise" - Always makes me want a fish filet from McDonalds

"Twenty Something Girls vs. Thirty Something Women" - A good friendship episode

"Ex and the City" - I like when they sing in the bar together because I do that alot with my friends.

Season Three -

"No If's, And's, or Butts" - The first Aidan episode.

"The Big Time" - I like the whole Aidan/Big story arc

"Easy Come, Easy Go" - When most straight guys stopped watching the show

"Hot Child in the City" - Silly

Season Four -

"The Real Me" - Me likey.

"Ghost Town" - Probably one of my top two favorite episodes

"Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda" - My other favorite episode

"Change of a Dress" - When the rest of the straight guys stopped watching the show

"I Heart NY" - I want those shoes

Season Five

"Plus One is the Lonliest Number" - The little cakes in this episode are so cute! I like the idea of a plus one instead of a date.

"Critical Condition" - We have all gotten a "face" at some point or another

Season Six -

"Hop, Skip, and a Week" - "For where I am right now, you might as well be a gay guy with Carnations"

"The Post-It Always Sticks Twice" - I like the ice cream scene at the end.

"One" - cute

"An American Girl in Paris - Parts Une and Deux" - The end.

Burgers I've Eaten - Part 10

It's the 10th post for "Burgers I've Eaten", and I chose a good one for you. Sunday, I went to the Quarry House Tavern in Silver Spring for a burger. The Quarry House is a dive bar in Silver Spring, with a great jukebox. It is pretty dark in here, so if you're looking for the perfect place to enjoy a burger and a beer on a spring day, this might not be the place for you.

I ordered the 1/3 pound burger, medium, with blue cheese. The burger arrived in a basket with a generous side of tater tots. It was a well prepared burger, juicy and slightly seared on the outside.

I love when restaurants serve tater tots instead of fries. They are more comforting.

I would also like to add that the Quarry House boasts a fantastic selection of draft and bottled beers. Any place that lists their beers in a book is fine by me.

Sex and the City Movie

In a few more weeks, the Sex and the City movie opens! I am so excited for this film, I can hardly wait.

I have probably watched the entire series thirty times. I realize this makes me a dork.

If anyone has any information regarding sneak peeks in Baltimore and/or DC, please pass them my way. Thanks.

Santogold

Santogold's self titled album was released today. I predict that this album will be huge. It's the perfect spring/summer album.

The Enchanted Forest

If you grew up in the Baltimore in the 1980's, chances are your parents took you to The Enchanted Forest. It was this awesome amusement parks for kids with attractions based on nursery rhymes and fairy tales.

The park has since been turned into a shopping center, but there's still hope for The Enchanted Forest. Clark's Elioak Farm has been restoring all of the attractions for the past few years. It makes me so happy to know that someone is taking care of them. I remember feeling very sad when I read an article on the deterioration of The Enchanted Forest about 10 years ago in the Baltimore City Paper.

The Baltimore Sun wrote an article about the restoration of the attractions from the Enchanted Forest today. Read it here.

Forgot One

I cannot believe I forgot this cookbook! This cookbook is magical. Everything I've made from here has been unbelievable. Our friends were always making the best tasting food for us for dinner. Finally, we asked them their secret, and they showed us this book.

The recipes are so good, you'll find it difficult to dine out for Mexican ever again.

Favorite Cookbooks

Mark Bittman of the New York Times is asking people to review their favorite cookbooks over at his blog.

I am a fairly recent serious cookbook buyer. I got my first cookbook when I was 11 years old. I bought a copy of the Moosewood Cookbook when I decided to become a vegetarian at 14, and received a copy of Joy of Cooking when I got married.

I had always been more of a baker. I had some favorite dishes, but was mostly a pasta maker, until about 3 years ago, when I first started to get serious about cooking. My problem was that I never really knew what to make.

A subscription to Cooking Light changed alot about the way I cook. I think it was because the recipes were in magazine form, they seemed less intimidating somehow, and helped me to branch out and get pretty good at cooking things with meat in them. Having been a vegetarian for most of my early adult years, I never learned how to cook meat (or how to tell when it was done). Every month, I had a bunch of new recipes to try, and, aside from one dish, they were all pretty good.

Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen have also been an immense help to me in the kitchen. I love reading this magazine and their cookbooks on lazy Sunday afternoons. I enjoy learning about the process of preparing the food and experimenting to find the perfect recipe.

So, here's my list of my favorite cookbooks at this time. I'm sure my collection will continue to grow. If you have any recommendations, I'd appreciate them.



The Joy of Cooking is a wonderful reference cookbook. Have some beets and need to know how to cook them? That's in here. No kitchen should be without this one.



America's Best New Recipes is written by the folks at Cook's Illustrated. Want the perfect Macaroni and Cheese recipe? Look no farther. It's another "must" for the cookbook shelf.



I really love the original Moosewood Cookbook, but I like this one better. I had the joy of eating at this restaurant a long time ago, and I still rank it as one of my top 5 lunches ever. I haven't read a Moosewood Cookbook I didn't like.



Everyday Italian is one of my favorite shows on the Food Network. It's also one of my favorite cookbooks. This isn't the most low-fat cookbook you'll ever buy, but the ingredient list for recipes is usually short, and it's simple to cook this food.



I just bought this book, but I'm including it here because it has alot of recipes I've loved from the magazine. I like this magazine and cookbook because it offers alternatives to dishes like fettuccine afredo and spinach/artichoke dip which are lighter than their full fat counterparts, but still taste yummy.



I have to admit that I mostly bought this book for the cover and the title. But, the recipes in here are fantastic, and are not your run-of-the-mill baking recipes. The Chocolate Hazelnut Torte is exceptional and the peanut butter bars taste alot like Reese's. The pictures in this book are also beautiful and make you want to bake everything.



The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook is my go-to book for baked goods. I have received nothing but the highest compliments when making anything out of this book. I like it too because it includes recipes for mostly old fashioned desserts, like yellow cake with butter cream icing, coconut cake, and hummingbird cake.

Books currently on my wish list:

The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook
The Martha Stewart Baking Cookbook
More from Magnolia
How to Cook Everything
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Anything by Dorie Greenspan
The Barefoot Contessa
Maida Heatter's Cakes
Maida Heatter's Cookies
Alice Waters The Art of Simple Food
Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts
The Gourmet Cookbook

Girls Rock!

I just watched the preview for Girls Rock, and I can't wait to see it.

I heard about Rock and Roll Camp for Girls a few years ago and thought it was a wonderful idea. A documentary has been made about this camp, and features some of my favorite women artists, the members of Sleater-Kinney and Peaches, who were teachers.

Having been a teenage girl who always wanted to play keyboards in a band, I can totally relate to this movie.

It's playing now in Baltimore at the Rotunda theater.

Sheep and Wool 2008

Next weekend is the Sheep and Wool Festival at the Howard County Fairgrounds. I will be there on Saturday trying not to buy all the yarn.

Creepy

Monday night, residents of Phoenix, Arizona noticed these red lights in the night sky. This was similar to an incident in 1997.

Does anyone else remember that episode of Unsolved Mysteries in which an entire episode was devoted to UFO sightings?

Creepy.

The Oriole Bird

I love the Oriole Bird. He's the best mascot.

Cookie Monster

My friend Roopa sent me this great article from McSweeney's this morning.

I love Cookie Monster.

p.s. I still have "C is for Cookie" on vinyl.

Document Day

Each spring, there is that one perfect day, when you can drive down the road with the windows all the way down for the first time after winter.

Each year on that day, I listen to R.E.M.'s Document while driving down the road. I don't know why I chose this album years ago to initiate spring, it just seemed right to me.

That day was Wednesday! Happy belated Document Day!

Flag Pin

The other night at the democratic debate, some woman asked Barack Obama why he doesn't wear a flag pin.

I personally could care less if he wears a flag pin in his lapel or not. Since when does wearing this stupid flag pin mean that you're the biggest patriot in the room? Who cares if he chooses not to wear one?

This outward display of patriotism is old and tired. Flag pins, flag stickers on cars (most of which are displayed improperly, might I add), ribbons everywhere. What ever happened to proudly displaying your flag in front of your house on the 4th of July. Remember when that used to be enough?

It's fine with me if someone wants to vote for another candidate, just don't vote against a candidate simply because he believes patriotism is about more than wearing a stupid piece of enameled metal made in China.

For additional information regarding the woman who asked this question of Obama at the debate, please refer to this article.

Found: Oceanic Flight 815

I went to Fantasy of Flight this weekend in Lakeland, Florida, and found the remnants of Oceanic Flight 815 outside of their sheet metal shop. Ok, so it wasn't the actual plane, but it sure looks like it. Could this be a Widmore Industries conspiracy?

Fantasy of Flight was really cool. They have dozens of planes, in flying condition, unlike this one.

Chick Flicks

I've always been a fan of cheesy movies and tv shows. I don't know what it is about them, but I find them comforting. I feel the same way about "Boy Meets World" and "Caroline in the City" as described by Starlee Kine in this episode of This American Life. They're really bad shows, but somehow, some of us liked them anyway.

There was an article in the New York Times about chick flicks, and it made me want to list some of my favorites. I could watch these movies over and over again (and I have). Here's a short list:

Before Sunrise
Before Sunset
Untamed Heart
Benny and Joon
Pretty Woman
Dirty Dancing
Steel Magnolias
Sleepless in Seattle
When Harry Met Sally
Sense and Sensibility
Shakespeare in Love

I Know It's Early

But the Orioles have been playing great baseball!

Maybe this is our year after all.

On a Wall

My first "Woman in Corner" is currently on display at the Columbia Art Center. I had to post a picture of it because the painting is also in a corner, and I think that's hilarious. Check it out if you're in the area!

Finished

I finished "Woman in Corner 2" last week. It's different from the first one because I worked from the cover of a pulp novel, and not a collage I'd made. But, I think this one came out alright. You can see how off I was in my face proportions by looking at the previously posted pictures. I could definitely benefit from a portrait class of some kind!

Overall, I'm really happy working on this series. It's the first time I've ever thought about paintings I'd like to include together. I also have my cupcake series, but those are just for fun and love of baked goods.

Favorite

Years ago, Smithsonian Magazine wrote an article on Andy Goldsworthy. I think I was about 15 years old. Since then, I've been a huge fan of his work. He uses leaves, twigs, icicles, and other objects he finds to create temporary works of art. Sometimes, his art is an event of sorts, with people gathering to throw dirt into the air to capture it by photograph.

Andy Goldsworthy's creations are typically simpler than the larger environmental artworks of Christo and Jeanne-Claude or Spiral Jetty.

I love the idea of temporary, environmental art. Typically, one can only see Goldsworthy's work in person if you're in the right place at the right time.

There are currently some of his latest works on display at the Yorkshire Sculpture Garden (similar to the picture above). My lucky cousin and his wife are visiting soon.

If you haven't seen his work in his many books, I suggest taking a moment to seek them out, and ponder the concept of environmental art.

You can read a more recent article about Andy Goldsworthy
here.

Daring Bakers Challenge - Dorie's Perfect Party Cake

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours"

My friend was visiting from Chicago this weekend and agreed to help and keep me company while we made this wonderful cake for March's Baker's Challenge. I was a little worried about the icing, because I prefer a traditional American Buttercream, but I think the Raspberry preserves offset the heavy butter flavor.

(Note: I am still not the best at taking pictures of food, but I'm working on it. We were so excited to try this cake, I didn't spend too much time decorating it.)

Mixer is ready to work!

Mixing the sugar and the lemon zest.

During the mixing process

Ready for the oven

Cooling

Finished icing

Now with sprinkles

Piece of Cake

Finished

I finished "Woman in a Corner 2" last night. Looking at the previously posted pictures, I can't believe how off I was in the proportions of the face. I moved the left eye over significantly and narrowed her face on that side. I wouldn't say this is my most successful painting ever, but I'm hoping I'll like it more with time. Pictures later.

Sorry Magic Eraser

For the past few years, I have been touting the loveliness that is a clean bathroom after using the magic eraser.

But, now I've found a cleaner even better, appropriately named KABOOM!

No longer will I have to scrub my bathroom tub for 30 minutes waiting for the magic eraser to take away all the soap scum. Instead, I shall just apply KABOOM! to the surface and watch all the dirt and grime magically disappear.

I highly recommend this cleaning product.

Did I mention it comes in a super cute purple bottle?

Burgers I've Eaten - Part 9

Cotham's in the City - Little Rock, AR

Last week, I travelled back to Arkansas once again. This time, I finally found THE place to eat there. The locals took me out to lunch for a burger, fried pickles, fried green tomatoes, and a fried pie.

I was in heaven.

Cotham's burger is perfectly sized and well charbroiled on the outside. Finely chopped onions add moisture to the burger without overwhelming the flavor of the meat. The bun is perfection with a nice sheen on top.

I have to say that it is Cotham's sides that really send their food over the top. Their fried pickles were thinly sliced, covered in a delicately spiced fine cornmeal, and flash fried so they weren't greasy when they arrived at the table. They were served with a cool ranch dipping sauce. No longer will I accept the whole fried pickles Rocket to Venus sells as edible.

Fried green tomatoes are prepared in relatively the same fashion, and are fabulous. I hope I can slice mine as thin this summer.

If you're planning a visit to Little Rock, don't miss this fabulous, kitchy eatery. I don't recommend looking at the poorly produced photos of their food on their website though. Doesn't do this place justice at all.

But, if you must know the location, here you go.

Chicago

Most of my friends know I love Chicago. Not only do some of my favorite people live there, it's a great city for food and fun. My friend is visiting in a few weeks and asked for suggestions for my favorite places. Here you go, dear!

Places to Visit

Wrigley Field
There is nothing like stepping back in baseball time to attend a Cubs game. Everyone here wears Cubs gear, not like other ballparks (I'm talking to you O's fans). Watching baseball doesn't get much better than this.

Museum of Science and Industry
This is such a great science museum. There is a coal ride that looked like a ton (hehe) of fun, but the line was too long the day I visited. You can take a trip on a Zephyr, take a tour of a German submarine, and see a scale model of Chicago. I see that there's a glass exhibit there now that is probably amazing.

Art Institute of Chicago
I spend a few hours here every time I visit Chicago. The abstract expressionist room is wonderful. I could sit there all day and watch peoples reactions to those paintings. There is also a great collection of miniature rooms here. Ferris Buller and friends go here on their day off.

The Field Museum
I have to admit, I've only been behind the scenes of the Field Museum. But, I did see Sue, the huge dinosaur. I could spend all day "backstage" looking at the thousands of fungi and lichen specimens they have catalogued here.

Architecture Tour
Chicago is known for its architecture. I have always wanted to go on a tour, but have never really had time. My friends have been on them and said they're awesome.

Navy Pier Ferris Wheel
This Ferris Wheel was modeled after the first ever Ferris Wheel in the United States designed by the same guy who thought up the Eiffel Tower. It's kind of pricey, but it's really fun, even on a cold, foggy night.

The Second City
If you're a fan of Saturday Night Live, you must visit the place where so many of the cast members got their start.

Reckless Records\
One of my favorite places for vinyl. The Milwaukee Ave location is where they filmed High Fidelity.


Eats and Drinks

Greek Islands
A trip to Chicago is wasted unless you go here for some flaming cheese.

Bongo Room
The brunch here is the best. Maybe the best in the country. Various flavors of pancakes await you here. Go early, because this place isn't a secret.

Penny's Noodle Shop
Cheap eats and really awesome noodles can be eaten here. Beware of the "noodle bowl" syndrome that follows a meal here.

Billy Goat Tavern
Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger. NO FRIES! CHIPS! (and yummy grilled cheese sandwiches)

Anything Rick Bayless Owns
I have never been smart enough to go to one of his restaurants while I visited Chicago, but I've been addicted to his "Mexican Everyday" cookbook this year. Needless to say I will not be skipping these during my next trip.

Ed Debevic's
They really do sing and dance here and you can eat your dinner wearing a funny hat.

Garrett Popcorn
Sure you can order it online. But nothing beats getting it warm from the shop.

Vosges Chocolate
There is a Vosges store in Chicago. I'm pretty sure it's on Michigan.

Gingerman Tavern
This may very well be one of my favorite bars in the United States. Good beer, great jukebox, and nice people. A haven in Wrigleyville from all the frat boy loaded sports bars. Near here somewhere there is a also a bar dubbed "Phil Collins Bar" by my friends and I because they seem to always be playing Phil Collins' songs.

The Map Room
A great bar with strange books you can read to your friends while you drink good beer.

Silver Cloud
A cute space with phenomenal cocktails. Probably the only place I will order a girly drink (well, here and Felix).

The Green Mill
I went here my first time in Chicago and it was super. There was an old radio show performance happening that night. A really interesting place to sit and have a drink, imagining times gone by. Very Great Gatsby in here.

The famed Rock and Roll McDonalds is also located in Chicago. I would post a video of Wesley Wills (RIP) singing this song to close out the post, but I don't know how, so you'll have to look that one up yourself.

Kids in the Hall - Touring Again!

Kids in the Hall are touring again and they're coming to the Warner Theater in DC on Saturday, May 3rd! They announced the tour last week without an area date and I was sad.

Sad no longer!

If you haven't seen them live before, you're in for a treat.

SURPRISE!

They're Back!

After the mistake that was their last album, I am happy to report that R.E.M. has returned with a release, that is not only listenable, it is also good.

Listen to it here and go buy a copy if it is to your liking.

Shout Out

My cousin, Lina is spending some time in Mexico this year and is documenting her time in a blog. I am so lucky to have such an articulate and creative person in my family! I encourage everyone to read of her adventures.

Lost

In a scene from last night's Lost, Sayid and Desmond are in a room and there's banging on the pipes. Desmond thought the boat was busted, but Sayid said that it wasn't random.

Isn't it clear that this was morse code? Come on Lost geeks, translate!

(I don't know morse code and am relying on those smarter than me in this situation to figure it out for me.)

Reunion

It's been 15 years since a group of high school and middle school students raised money to help save Kilgore Falls (known to locals as Falling Branch) from being sold to private owners. We built the first trail to the falls, and helped to maintain the property.

A few years ago, we formed "Friends of Falling Branch" as a response to Kilgore Falls being placed on the Maryland Department of the Environment's potential surplus property list by the Governor at the time and DNR, without the knowledge of most Maryland officials. The senate and house have since passed a bill that would prevent a governor from selling parkland and open space without legislative approval.

Falling Branch is currently part of Rocks State Park in Harford County, Maryland. It's the second highest waterfall in Maryland and a great place for a quick and easy hike in the morning. It was featured in the Disney movie, "Tuck Everlasting".

This weekend, a bunch of the old Ecology Club members are meeting for a little reunion at the falls. It will be nice to see everyone!

Finished

This painting will be on the wall at the student/faculty art show next week. It's "Woman in Corner #1". I painted it from a collage I'd made years ago.

In Progress

I'm currently working on the second painting in my "women in corners" series. The first picture is its appearance before the start of class last night, and the second is afterwards. I think this is coming along fairly well. I really love the background and her face is starting to shape up a little bit. I still need to add some light and dark to the overall painting (and shape up those eyebrows).

I'm hoping to have it completed for next week's student/faculty art show.

Happy Pi Day!

I made a chocolate cream pie for the occasion. Holy shit this pie is amazing. Thanks again, Cook's Illustrated. I made their "Chocolate Cream Pie" from this book.

I feel as though I have now mastered the "crumb crust" pie. A success in the year I hope to become a good maker of pies.

Stuff White People Like

My friend sent me the link to this website last week. I highly recommend it. I admit liking the following (numbers correspond with the list):

#85 The Wire
#84 T-Shirts
#83 Bad Memories of High School
#82 Hating Corporations
#79 Modern Furniture
#77 Musical Comedy
#76 Bottles of Water
#75 Threatening to Move to Canada
#71 Being the only white person around
#68 Michel Gondry
#67 Standing Still at Concerts
#64 Recycling
#61 Bicycles
#60 Toyota Prius
#57 Juno
#54 Kitchen Gadgets
#52 Sarah Silverman
#51 Living by the Water
#49 Vintage
#48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops
#47 Arts Degrees
#46 The Sunday New York Times
#44 Public Radio
#43 Plays
#42 Sushi
#41 Indie Music
#40 Apple Products
#39 Netflix
#38 Arrested Development
#37 Renovations
#36 Breakfast Places
#35 The Daily Show/Colbert Report
#34 Architecture
#32 Vegan/Vegetarianism
#30 Wrigley Field
#26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!)
#25 David Sedaris
#24 Wine
#23 Microbreweries
#19 Traveling
#18 Awareness
#15 Yoga
#13 Tea
#12 Non-Profit Organizations
#10 Wes Anderson Movies
#9 Making you feel bad about not going outside
#8 Barack Obama
#7 Diversity
#6 Organic Food
#5 Farmer’s Markets
#1 Coffee

Marc Steiner's Blog

Marc Steiner has a blog and right now , there are a bunch of podcasts about the end of the Wire.

Check it out here.

Pie Day

Since I work around a bunch of science geeks (and am one myself), we have decided to celebrate pie day at work on Friday. Why Friday, you ask? Well, because this Friday is March 14th, or 3.14, or pi.

I am making a chocolate pie with an oreo cookie crust from my Baking Illustrated book. We also have pudding pie and key lime pie on the docket.

It should be fun!

The Wire

Last night, The Wire came to an end. I won't post much about my thoughts since there are people (Elly) who read this blog who haven't started watching this season.

But, I will say that I will miss what I believe to be, the only real show on television.

Here's a good quote from an article in today's New York Times:

“The Wire” ended at just the right time: too soon. And it’s not that Mr. Simon’s series was the only intelligent drama on television. The difference is that most smart shows try to dazzle viewers with what they don’t know: “House” on Fox throws out the rarest diseases and most far-fetched diagnostic tools to update Sherlock Holmes and “Numb3rs” on CBS twists every crime to fit an advanced mathematical formula.

“The Wire” worked with primary sources that anybody could grasp if they looked closely out the window on the train from New York to Washington. It’s the same view of Baltimore — abandoned row houses, gutted factories and bullet-pocked store fronts — that McNulty takes in when he parks his car and looks down at the city from afar.

“It is what it is,” is what McNulty and others would say to end a conversation. “The Wire” was what it was, and that was a lot.

Lou Reed

Lou Reed is touring a little this year, and it got me thinking about when I went to see him at Bohager's almost 10 years ago. It was so long ago, the concert occurred 2 weeks before my 21st birthday. I still remember the bouncer looking at my license, saying "almost", and then putting big x's on my hands.

I miss the old Bohager's. Someone out there remembers this fine musical venue on Eden Street, before they took over Parrot Island and became a haven for foam parties and Elimidate contestants.

I looked up the setlist from that night, and just felt like posting it, because it was awesome. Sadly, I didn't get to hear "Heroin". But, he did play two of my favorite Velvet Underground songs, "Pale Blue Eyes" and "I'll Be Your Mirror".

Setlist from 08/14/98:

Dorita / Sweet Jane - Egg Cream - Set The Twilight Reeling - Perfect Day - Vicious - Street Hassle - Hooky Wooky - Kicks - Hang On To Your Emotions - Into The Divine - Future Farmers Of America - New Sensations - Dirty Blvd. - Satellite Of Love - Riptide - The Original Wrapper - Pale Blue Eyes - Rock And Roll - Walk On The Wild Side - I'll Be Your Mirror

An Open Letter to David Edelstein

(Have you ever had one of those friends who ruins a movie for you when you ask them for a summary of the plot? That's David Edelstein.)

Dear Mr. Edelstein,

I am writing to thank you for your in-depth movie reivews. Thanks to your ability to boil any plot down to a few minute synopsis, I never have to see these films. I really appreciate that time you told me that something really bad happened in "Million Dollar Baby" or blurted out the ending to any movie you've ever reviewed.

I also love when I try to avoid your reviews by not reading them, only to have the movie spoiled in your review headline.

I encourage you to shadow Kenneth Turan for a week. He can review a movie without telling everyone all its plot points.

Sincerely,

Kate

(David Edelstein reviews movies for NY Magazine, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and sometimes, CBS Sunday Morning. Avoid his reviews unless you like to know everything about a film before you see it)

Funny

Yesterday, my friend Elly commented on my CVS post and mentioned chocolate skittles. My husband happened to bring a bag home last night. We had to force ourselves to try all the flavors.

They are disgusting.

There's a review of them over at candy blog and I think she was being generous with her 5 out of 10 review. These are right up there with Cake Love cupcakes for me.

Smarties Jelly Beans

They are amazing. Just the right amount of sweet and tart, like real Smarties, only in jelly bean form.

I highly recommend them.

On the Needles

I am currently working on this peapod baby set from knitting daily and it is giving me such a hard time. The bottom rib row is impossible to interpret. If anyone has any hints for me, I'd really appreciate it. I'm about to abandon it for something else.

CVS Wins Again

For a few weeks now, I've been searching every store for Smarties Jelly Beans. My co-worker, a fellow candy person, brought them into work and neither of us have been able to find them since. I'd been to Giant, Safeway, Walgreens, and Weis.

I decided to check the CVS by my work today and they had them!

I love when a good candy hunt comes to an end.

(CVS is also where I found Carnival Skittles last summer)